Moments in Time From the Grand Line
by fieryfalcon
Summary: This story contains my vision of how certain events will transpire so expect MANGA SPOILERS as of Jan. 2007. Will mainly focus on certain key fights that are bound to happen in the future along with some crew interaction. NamiLuffy implied
1. Robin's Intuition

AN: This story will contain random scenes from the Straw Hat pirate's travels on the Grand Line. Set in the future, will almost certainly be AU at some point. This is how I imagine that the story might turn out. Thanks for reading, leave a review if you have the time and inclination.

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Somewhere in the Grand Line, the greatest and most fearsome sea in the world, a small band of pirates had anchored off of an uninhabited island. That island, which had remained peaceful for over 800 years had suddenly been enveloped in the kind of noisy rambunctious goings on that pirates were well known for causing.

The sniper and the doctor ran in terror from various overgrown animals that commonly prowled islands in the Grand Line. The swordsman got lost, repeatedly, as he begrudgingly carried out the navigator's instructions to find food on behalf of the cook. The navigator and the archaeologist explored the ruins of the fallen outpost that appeared to have belonged to some great civilization of the past as they tried to avoid the constant pestering of the cook. The shipwright mostly stayed on the pirate's modest vessel so he could lovingly maintain the ship that he had built especially for this voyage to the end of the world.

The captain created noisy chaos wherever he went. First, by experimenting with some strange plants by eating them, which caused the doctor several moments of terror. Then further ruckus was raised by his disturbing a nest of giant beaver that had made their home in the spring island's temperate weather. That was in addition to his normal antics, which got him kicked out of the kitchen, out of the gunnery, and eventually off of the ship by a nerve wracked cook, sniper, and shipwright. Now he was rambling along behind the two members of the crew who were investigating the old ruins, but so far whatever annoyance he might cause acceptable in light of the benefits of having him close at hand in case they ran into trouble.

"Luffy-kun, be careful over there," Nico Robin said gently. Straw Hat Pirate Captain Monkey D. Luffy had found an interesting crack in an ancient wall and was trying to drag something out of it.

"Oi, Nami, do you have something shiny?" Luffy asked as if he didn't hear Robin.

"What are you talking about?" Nami asked. She had only agreed to accompany Robin on this trip out into the ruins because she hoped to find something valuable left over from the fallen outpost.

"I need something shiny to swap," Luffy said. He held up a small ornate mirror, which was miraculously unbroken, set inside a beautifully designed frame of jewel adorned gold.

"Oh Luffy-kun," Nami said, her voice gushing sweetness as she rushed over to the tiny treasure. "Did you get that for me?"

"Sure," Luffy replied, but then he frowned. "We've got to leave something shiny though."

"Why is that Captain-kun?" Robin asked. Nami was too busy fawning over the mirror to take notice herself.

"That's the rules," Luffy replied, as if it should be obvious. He pointed to something inside the wall. "If you want to take something you've got to leave something in exchange."

Robin looked to where he was pointing, her eyes widening slightly as she realized what he meant. The mirror had come from the nest of a giant packrat that was living in a collapsed room behind the wall.

"Here, use this," Robin said quickly as she took out a small mirror of her own that could be purchased cheaply at most any port.

"Ah, thank you Robin," Luffy said. He stretched his arm slightly to place the offering back inside the rat's nest, laughing all the while as Nami continued to sway back and forth in excitement over the other mirror. "Exploring, let's go explore!"

Robin chuckled and smiled slightly as Luffy went bounding off, though he seemed to remember to be careful of her precious historical ruins.

"Are you coming Navigator-san?" Robin asked. Nami looked up, eyes glowing with the thought of more profit.

"Of course Robin-sama," Nami said, her voice still sticky sweet. "Say, do these writings say anything about a hidden treasure?"

"No," Robin replied, "But at an outpost of this size one might expect to find such a thing."

"What are we waiting for then?" Nami said excitedly. "Exploring, let's go explore!"

This time Robin laughed out loud as she watched the navigator go off enthusiastically in the same direction as their captain had gone. She moved off after them, picking her way through the rubble strewn ruins carefully to avoid damaging them as much as to keep from losing her footing.

Nearly four hours later Nami sat down on a cracked slab of rock wall that had fallen over in the distant past. She was somewhat exhausted from hiking around all day visiting the places Robin wanted to see and from not finding another scrap of treasure.

"I'm hungry," Luffy said, predictably. "I'm going to find Sanji."

"Okay," Robin replied, still engrossed in her research. "We'll follow you shortly."

"Uh, Robin, are you sure that's safe?" Nami asked nervously. It was starting to get late and who knew what kind of monsters might come out.

"It's all right," Robin said. "We've been on this island for some time now. If there were something here capable of threatening us we would have been aware of it by now."

"The oceans in the South are warm…" Luffy's voice echoed through the ruins as he headed back toward their ship, Thousand Sunny, singing one of his favorite songs.

"Now that you mention it," Nami said, her voice carrying thoughtful inflection. "We have been on this island a bit longer than we normally stay in a single place."

"Captain-kun is giving me time to examine these ruins more closely," Robin replied. "This outpost fell during the void century after all."

"He told you that?" Nami asked, surprised.

"No," Robin said, "Not really, but I mentioned that I wished we had time to study this place closely when we first arrived."

Nami thought back and realized that Luffy had inquired about the ruins several times during the past week. She had thought that he was just bored at the time.

"I thought it was just one of his whims," Nami said softly. Another memory appeared, unbidden, of Ao Kiji lazily mentioning that Luffy enjoyed acting dumb. "Though, he is much more intelligent than he pretends to be."

"That much is certain," Robin agreed.

"Say, Robin," Nami asked slowly. "What do you think of him?"

"Luffy-kun is a very complex person," Robin replied casually. Upon seeing Nami's slightly shocked expression she arched an eyebrow. "Is that a surprising response?"

"Uh, oh, no, of course not," Nami said hastily.

"He hides behind a jovial carefree exterior, but his true self is forced to emerge when he does battle," Robin said seriously. "I recognized it first in the sands of Arabasta when I saw him realize Crocodile's weakness even though he was on the verge of death."

"His true self," Nami repeated unconsciously. She remembered something Luffy had told her once about that first duel with Crocodile. "Is that why you helped him then?"

"Yes," Robin replied. "I knew that, even in that state, he could win. He had the will to win, the will of a fearsome warrior, the will that he keeps hidden normally."

"Nah, nah, you're exaggerating things now Robin-chan," Nami said lightly. "Sure, Luffy isn't the kind of person who would lose to anyone, but he isn't scary like most of the strong people we've met."

"That's the part he keeps hidden, right Navigator-san?" Robin replied.

"You really think…?" Nami said hesitantly.

"Who knows," Robin said, shrugging. "It's just a feeling I've had that's grown stronger since Luffy met Dragon and learned _that_ technique."

After crossing the Red Line Luffy had finally been able to meet his father, the infamous revolutionary Dragon. The encounter hadn't been more noteworthy than Luffy's reunion with his grandfather, the Marine Vice Admiral Garp, except that Dragon had instructed Luffy in a technique that he insisted would be absolutely vital for the survival of the Straw Hat pirates in the New World.

"Luffy-kun doesn't want his nakama to fear his power, the power he uses to protect those he cares about," Robin continued. The two women walked in silence for a minute as they emerged from the edge of the ruins.

"Garp and now Dragon," Nami said, interrupting the silence. "Luffy certainly has an interesting family. Who would have imagined that two such important and strong people would have been his direct relatives…"

"Do you remember the story I told you about the giant I knew when I was a small girl?" Robin asked.

"You mean, Saulo?" Nami replied.

"Yes, Jaguar D. Saulo, a Vice Admiral like Garp," Robin said. "I haven't uncovered the connection, but out of all the men I have encountered, all those who carry the name of D have without exception been seemingly destined for importance and power. Even if some of them become pirates or even revolutionaries like Dragon."

"I suppose that's why the World Government is so determined to capture Luffy-kun," Nami said ruefully. Ever since they had passed into the New World the Marines and the World Government they served had redoubled their efforts to capture the Straw Hat pirates.

"I should apologize again for causing you all such trouble," Robin said. They stopped at the edge of the forest and sat down.

"Eh, Robin, you're still going on about that?" Nami said playfully. "You know you're no trouble at all compared to those other guys."

"Even if you say that, look at our situation from the point of view of the World Government," Robin said. "After failing to prevent the meeting of Straw Hat Luffy and Revolutionary Dragon everything has been thrown into obscurity for the Marine high command. Is the Straw Hat collaborating in the destabilization of the world powers? Did the Straw Hat use Nico Robin to pass control of the ancient weapons to Dragon or does he intend to harness their power for himself?"

Nami's face tensed with anxiety as she considered all the possibilities. A clever person in her own right, nonetheless she had not seriously contemplated on such matters, though in her defense navigating the Grand Line was always a mentally taxing enterprise, especially in the New World.

"Luffy-kun is in a unique and unappealing position thanks to my troublesome presence on his crew," Robin continued. "He is the man who destroyed the judiciary island for the sake of a single crewmember, an act for which I am eternally grateful. He is now in serious contention to potentially seize One Piece, the ancient weapons, the truth of the void history, and in so doing plunge the world into chaos. That is what the World Government fears, a Pirate King armed with the true history and the lost weapons."

Nami made a frustrated noise. "Then, on top of all that, the idiot had to go and blab about Shanks in every tavern at every port city we've landed at since crossing the Red Line," Nami said.

Luffy had been eager to find his friend and idol, the person who inspired him to become a pirate, ever since they entered the New World. Toward that end he had been inquiring as to the whereabouts of the legendary Red Hair pirate. Unsurprisingly, the Marines had gotten wind of Luffy's connection with Red Hair and had set out to prevent them from meeting. So far Nami suspected that they had been successful since she had been forced to divert the Thousand Sunny's direction several times to avoid Marine patrols. It was rumored that Marine Headquarters had even dispatched an Admiral with orders to prevent contact and then there was always the bothersome presence of Smoker lurking in the background.

Robin sighed wistfully and looked out over the sea toward the setting sun. "I'm sorry Navigator-san," she said suddenly, "I seem to have rambled on unexpectedly."

"Ah, no, that's okay. I mean, I'm glad to hear your perspective," Nami said. She glanced over at the raven haired woman. "But you seem to have put a lot of thought into this subject."

"Yes," Robin said, cheerful again. "I'm quite interested in Luffy-kun."

"Ah, by that do you mean?" Nami asked, suddenly uneasy.

"What do you think Navigator-san," Robin continued, smiling broadly at Nami. "What do you think Luffy-kun's interest is?"

"Wait, wait," Nami said quickly. "This is _Luffy_ we're talking about here. I mean, uh…"

"Yes, Navigator-san," Robin prompted, smiling broadly. Nami laughed nervously.

"You can't be serious Robin-chan," Nami said, her voice suddenly much too jovial and dismissive. "Luffy is loud and has no attention span and eats other people's food and…and…"

"And acts selflessly, a brave adventurer full of innocence and mirth who puts the lives and happiness of his nakama in front of everything else," Robin finished for her. "Most desirable characteristics, wouldn't you agree?"

Nami's face twitched slightly and then hardened noticeably. Robin could see the bright haired young woman tremble slightly.

"I…I…" Nami sputtered, searching for words. Unbidden, memories of Luffy's struggle against Arlong replayed in her mind. As joyous as his triumph had been, Nami had been even more enamored to the young pirate by the aftermath of that event. He was her friend and ever since that day she had considered him her best friend. She had never imagined that a _pirate_ would not only save her, but not attempt to take advantage of her in exchange. "What do you know?"

"Navigator-san?" Robin asked quizzically.

"I really…" Nami began. Her voice rose and she turned away from Robin, her legs trying to break into a run. "Just stay away from him."

Robin sat smiling as she watched Nami's retreating back as she retreated swiftly toward the ship.

"Oi, oi, wasn't that a bit harsh," Zoro's voice asked as he emerged from the dense underbrush of the forest.

"Mr. Swordsman," Robin said pleasantly. "Don't you know it is impolite to listen to other people's conversations?"

"Eh, I don't care about things like that," Zoro replied. He had gotten lost again, but there was no need to voice that little detail aloud. Instead he leaned against a nearby tree and appraised the situation further, though he hated thinking about such bothersome things. "You did that on purpose didn't you?"

"Who knows?" Robin replied, her smile widening.

"He wouldn't be happy with anyone else you know," Zoro said in a matter of fact tone.

"Neither would she," Robin replied.


	2. Spirit vs Logia

AN: I appreciate all the reviews that I got before and would like to thank those who took the time to leave a reply. This chapter contains my opinion of how certain things (such as logia combat) could turn out in the future, but only time will tell. As always, I write as inspiration takes me so there is no expectation on when or what I'll write about next. Thanks for reading.

"Say, are you sure that we'll be able to find information about Shanks in a place like this?" Luffy asked again.

Rumors of a "pirate haven" island had drawn the Straw Hat crew to the tiny port city in hopes that there might be someone who knew of the legendary Red Hair's recent whereabouts. Unfortunately, the atmosphere of the town seemed to be even worse than the last pirate haven they had visited. Various cutthroat looking individuals were hanging about, undoubtedly to prey upon anyone who looked like an easy mark.

"Hey, don't get so far ahead," Nami said hurriedly, ignoring Luffy's question since he had asked it three times already. "You've got to protect me, remember?"

The rest of the crew, including Zoro, their second strongest fighter, had been left to defend the Thousand Sunny for that same reason; the harbor had been filled with large powerful warships, some of which were crawling with dozens or hundreds of pirates. In such places it wasn't uncommon for pirates to steal or even just sink rival vessels. A pirate without a ship on the Grand Line was as good as dead anyway, in most cases.

"You shouldn't worry so much Nami," Luffy replied casually. "You're strong ya know."

Nami's eye twitched in annoyance at her Captain and best friend's carefree attitude. Her sixteen million Belli bounty might make her a feared and powerful pirate back in her homeland in East Blue, but it was chump change in the depths of the Grand Line. Still, she knew that Luffy wouldn't let anything happen to her, provided of course that he didn't forget where he was and run off on some whim.

"We're here to find information about Shanks," Nami said sternly. "So don't go running off or getting into a fight, okay?"

"Yes, I promise," Luffy said solemnly, rubbing his head gingerly where Nami bopped him.

"Good," Nami replied. She scanned up and down the street until she found a tavern that looked like it catered exclusively to pirates. "Let's try that one."

"Eh? It doesn't look interesting at all," Luffy replied. He followed along without further protest though since he realized that Nami usually knew more about this stuff than him.

"What a dive," Nami muttered to herself as they stepped into the tavern.

Pirates were rough housing all around, drunken on sake and rum, and eating weird dishes that she assumed must be native to the island. Some of them actually looked pretty good. Nami wondered if she should send Sanji to investigate once she and Luffy were done inquiring about Shanks.

"Oooh," Luffy said excitedly. He too was looking at the array of edibles that the tavern served. "Those stuffed rolls look pretty good."

Nami was about to follow Luffy to the bar when she noticed something else that interested her. In one corner of the tavern were several games of chance.

"I'll be right over here if you need me," Nami said. Luffy merely waved back and sat down at the bar, loudly ordering two dozen stuffed rolls.

"Hey there little Miss," one of the card sharks said when she approached the table. "You want us to deal you in?"

"I don't know," Nami said with a fake bubbly tone. "I'm not very good at cards."

She could tell right away that the dealer didn't believe her, probably because he'd heard the "naive sucker" routine too many times already in a place such as this. Unfortunately, some of the pirates weren't so perceptive and before she even had time to sit down Nami found herself flanked by two particularly grizzly looking characters.

"Yo," the first one said. He was a large dirty looking man with two gleaming round saw blades attached to his forearms and two straight saws that looked as if they served as swords on his back. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Captain "Buzzsaw" Hoffman and this is my sub-commander Alley Fot."

Nami looked nervously at the other man, a pirate that seemed to be armed only with a short metal staff. They looked like small time pirates, but they clearly thought quite highly of themselves.

"This is a dangerous place lady," Buzzsaw Hoffman said menacingly. "You'd be better off coming with us; that twerp you came in with doesn't seem very reliable."

"_These idiots_," Nami thought to herself as she gingerly tried to back away. "_They didn't recognize Luffy at all. What rock have these morons been hiding under?_"

"As proof of our strength I'm worth fifty million Belli and the Captain here is worth eighty three million," Alley Fot said braggingly.

"That's quite an accomplishment," Nami said politely. "But I really wouldn't be interested."

"Hey, hey, don't be like that," Buzzsaw said gruffly. "Come on, just name your price. That guy doesn't look as if he can be paying you all that much."

"Hands off," Nami said sharply as Buzzsaw attempted to drape his arm over her shoulder. Had anyone been paying attention they would have noticed Luffy's head twist around sharply at Nami's protest.

"Look's like we've got us a "disrespecter" Captain," Alley Fot said, grinning at his own word invention.

"Are you trying to pick a fight after telling me not to? Nami?" Luffy asked, smiling childishly as he often did. Nami smiled faintly at his attempt to make light of the situation. Now they'd probably get into a ruckus and be unable to stay in port long enough to get information on Shanks. Of course, on the other hand someone might volunteer what they wanted to know just to keep from inciting the wrath of the three hundred million Belli villain, the now infamous pirate Straw Hat Luffy.

"Don't worry Luffy, these guys were just leaving I think," Nami replied sweetly.

"Oh?" Luffy said, slightly confused. "Was I mistaken then? They don't want to fight?"

"Nami? Luffy?" Alley Fot repeated. His expression looked as if he had just remembered something obvious. "Straw Hat Pirate Navigator, the Burglar Cat Nami?"

"What are you babbling about?" Buzzsaw asked irritably.

"Captain, I think this is Straw Hat Luffy, the man who declared war on the World Government," Alley Fot said, panic setting into his voice.

Loud booming laughter echoed through the tavern causing many of the patrons to turn and look at the unfolding situation. Nami had taken a couple of steps behind Luffy because it didn't look like they'd be able to avoid an incident with this guy's attitude.

"You've got to be kidding me," Buzzsaw said. "This kid just put on a straw hat. There's no way a brat like this could be the terrifying pirate who leads the crew of demons that attacked the judicial island."

"Is that guy drunk?" someone asked tersely from the gathering crowd.

"There's no mistake about it, that's definitely Straw Hat Luffy," another person said. "He looks just like the picture on the wanted poster."

"I guess I wasn't mistaken after all," Luffy replied, still seeming a bit bored. "You do want a fight."

Buzzsaw Hoffman reached back and threw his long trench coat off so that he could presumably improve his mobility. The reason for his nickname also became apparent when the round saw tooth blades on his wrists began to produce a faint buzzing noise as they rotated rapidly.

"Listen kid," Buzzsaw said arrogantly as he loomed over Luffy. "This head is worth eighty three million Belli thanks to the power of these invincible blades. They're going to be scraping you off of these walls for a month."

"Eh? Is that all? You're really weak," Luffy said, his voice belying incredulity that someone would try to fight in such a fashion.

Buzzsaw lunged forward, his arms slashing in a crossways fashion that would have left a normal person in quarters. Luffy nimbly evaded the attack, dancing in a seemingly random motion that somehow always placed himself just out of reach of his assailant's clumsy movements. Buzzsaw slashed straight down, intending to bisect Luffy, but missed again. Instead his saw embedded itself in the floor where it was stuck by Luffy stepping on his arm before he could free himself. Luffy twisted to the side and dodged the other blade, then snapped his body forward to deliver a bone crunching head butt to Buzzsaw's exposed skull.

"You're gonna pay for that," Buzzsaw promised angrily as Luffy stepped back and let him have a second chance to withdraw. He lunged again, exactly the same as he had during his first attack. This time Luffy didn't dodge, but instead grabbed Buzzsaw's wrists and slammed his blades together. Sparks flew for an instant before the power of Luffy's grip forcing the blades together caused them to bend and tear, disfiguring themselves into uselessness.

"Buzzsaw doesn't stand a chance," someone said from within the crowd. "Those big blades he's so proud of were taken out like they were nothing."

"What was that idiot thinking?" another person asked. "That's _Straw Hat_ Luffy."

Buzzsaw wasn't about to give up though now that he had been humiliated in front of so many people. Without missing a beat he drew the two massive saw tooth double edged blades from their place on his back. Luffy again nimbly evaded his ponderous movements as he swung the heavy sword like objects around.

"Now you're using weird swords?" Luffy asked, his tone indicating that he was anything but serious about this fight. He waited a second for Buzzsaw to over commit with one of his attacks and then when he was off balance Luffy punched him full force in the face. The boisterous pirate reeled back as several more hammer blows followed up, but Nami noticed that Luffy didn't even have to use his Devil's Fruit abilities even once during the encounter.

"Please, we quit, we quit," Alley Fot said. The sub-commander had grabbed the dazed form of his captain and was trying to pull him away from Luffy, who was for the first time glaring at them menacingly.

"I won't forgive anyone who threatens my nakama," Luffy said. He watched as the sub-commander left dragging Buzzsaw before turning to Nami again and giving her one of his trademark grins.

"I guess we're not going to get any information here," Nami said, shrugging. "Let's go back to the ship."

The trip back out of the town was much more subdued than the trip going in thanks to word of Luffy's fight spreading around. Other pirates made way or got off the street entirely as they walked past out of respect and fear for the famous Straw Hat captain. However, by the time they hit the large wide road that led to the docking area a strange fog had rolled in.

"Luffy," Nami said, worried. "This mist isn't natural."

"Huh?" Luffy asked. "It looks normal to me."

"No, the air flows, moisture levels, and temperature shouldn't support a fog bank right now," Nami said. She brushed her arm absently as she pondered the meteorological mystery before a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Luffy, it isn't fog at all-"

Luffy leapt aside as the fog constricted unexpectedly, but Nami had been unable to evade its grasp. She was swept off her feet and carried away rapidly by the unexpectedly solid fog, which Luffy now recognized Nami had been trying to tell him was actually smoke. Without hesitating Luffy ran off at full speed to keep up with Nami's vanishing figure as the smoke carried her along several feet off of the ground. The pursuit lasted for several minutes through some dense forested area until they reached a small cove on an uninhabited part of the island. There, anchored in the shallow waters, was a small marine ship. Standing on the shore was that ship's crew, including its commanding officer, a Commodore of the Marines, Smoker.

"You, Smokey, what are you doing here?" Luffy asked angrily of the infamous marine logia user known as Smoker. "Give Nami back right now!"

"Its natural for a marine to capture a pirate," Smoker replied, his tone oozing a condescending attitude. Next to him, his right hand officer Tashigi was gripping her katana anxiously. Further to the rear were the rest of the marines who had been ordered not to interfere, which suited them just fine. "Even when the pirate has a small bounty like this little burglar cat, a marine cannot ignore his duty to justice."

"I don't care about that," Luffy replied. "I thought you weren't a bad guy so why are you trying to kidnap Nami?"

Had Nami been able to slap her forehead in frustration at Luffy's antics she would have done so, but the smoke that was nearly smothering her had also clamped around her limbs rather painfully.

"I've never been able to figure you out Straw Hat," Smoker said. "You only opposed other pirates and villains like Crocodile, but then out of no where you annihilate the great judiciary island. Are you whimsical and foolish, or incredibly cunning?"

"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked, though no one could tell if he was actually bewildered or merely feigning it. "We just went to get Robin back. The old man with the leather face destroyed the island on his own with that buster thingie."

Smoker's eye twitched with annoyance, but he forged ahead anyway, his curiosity great enough to put up with Luffy's personality if it meant getting answers.

"Nico Robin, another mysterious presence," Smoker intoned. "What do you plan to use that woman for? Why did you go to such great lengths to retrieve her from our custody?"

"Robin is our nakama," Luffy said forcefully. "We're going to sail together and have adventures!"

"Cut the crap," Smoker yelled. "You expect me to believe that you challenged the world for a single nakama?"

"Of course," Luffy said. He began swinging his arm around, building up tension in the rubber. "Now give back Nami, we're tired of this island."

"Wait a minute Straw Hat," Smoker said. Nami let out a muffled cry of pain as the solidified smoke surrounding her tightened. "If you attempt to struggle then I'll crush this woman to death right now."

"No, stop it!" Luffy said, sagging slightly where he stood. Even with all his speed, he knew that he couldn't save her in the condition she was already in. If Smoker wanted to kill her it was within his power to do so before Luffy could free her.

"Where's all that bravado now?" Smoker asked, still trying to figure out what Luffy would do. "I thought you were going to go sail the sea and have adventures with your nakama?"

"You smokey jerk," Luffy said, falling to his knees. "You really are a bad person, using a hostage like some coward. You're strong aren't you? You don't need a hostage, so let her go."

Nami looked on in anguish at Luffy giving in just to save her. She struggled, but couldn't move an inch in her billowing prison.

"I thought you were going to be Pirate King?" Smoker said. "You can't accomplish your dream if you surrender to us here. Just abandon this one and flee."

"What dream?" Luffy asked softly.

"Huh?" Smoker said.

"What Pirate King?" Luffy asked, louder this time.

"_Has he lost his senses_?" Smoker thought to himself.

"If I lose _her _here then there isn't any meaning in going on," Luffy yelled. He looked down and continued on softly. "What if I agreed to surrender? Would you let Nami go?"

Nami's strength surged now as her heart glowed with warmth at his words, but her attempts at escape were still futile. "_No, Luffy,_" she thought to herself. "_Don't sacrifice yourself for me. Don't risk your ambition for me again._"

Tashigi gasped. This kind of behavior was bizarre from a pirate, let alone a pirate captain of Luffy's class. "He really does care about his friends more than continuing to rampage about the seas amassing stolen wealth or power," she said quietly to Smoker. "Is he really a pirate?"

"Yeah, he does care about them, especially this one it seems," Smoker said, chewing on his two cigars for a moment as he remembered an event over twenty years old. "He's the first real pirate I've seen in a long time."

Tashigi didn't have time to ask what that meant as the smoke encompassing Nami suddenly melted away. She landed on her feet, as her title indicated she would, and ran over to a now joyous Luffy.

"You're right about one thing Straw Hat," Smoker said. "I'm not the kind of person who cowardly hides behind a hostage to coerce my opponents into surrendering."

"So you were tricking me?" Luffy asked, perhaps legitimately confused now. "That wasn't very nice, but I guess you're still a good person since you changed your mind."

"I may have let your little red head go," Smoker said, "But you still owe me a fight. I said it back in Loguetown. If you can't defeat me then you have no business on the Grand Line."

"If you just wanted a fight all you needed to do was ask," Luffy said, cracking his knuckles. Nami would normally have protested that they should run away, but instead she just rolled her eyes and took out her perfect clima tact.

"Luffy, do as much as you want," Nami said sweetly. "I guess I'll be the sword girl's opponent."

She staggered slightly as Luffy's "spirit" began to seep out in preparation for battle with a logia user. She noticed that the marine girl, she believed her name was Tashigi, also looked as if a great weight were pressing down on her. Smoker on the other hand looked happy.

"I see you're not the same person I fought back in East Blue," Smoker said. His forearm turned into a hazy white cloud that propelled his still solid fist toward Luffy at an alarming rate. Luffy ducked under the blow and shot back a punch of his own. The two traded long range blows with great rapidity, though Nami noted that Luffy still managed to steer the battle away from her position.

"You know, we really don't need to fight," Nami said as she pointed her clima tact toward Tashigi.

"How do you figure that pirate girl?" Tashigi asked, her katana held at the ready.

"Because whoever wins that battle will nullify our fight," Nami said as she twirled two sections of her staff. If Luffy won then they would get away. If Smoker won then they would be captured. It was that simple.

A short distance away Smoker and Luffy's duel continued with neither being able to gain much advantage. Smoker dissipated into a large cloud of smoke that surrounded Luffy. From within that cloud a multitude of fists suddenly rained down on his position, several connecting and sending him sprawling. Out of the corner of his eye Luffy saw Smoker solidifying so he used the momentum of the blows he had taken and pivoted with his foot to turn rapidly. Smoker's triumphant grin turned to a shocked look as Luffy's fist dug into his face instead of passing harmlessly through.

"Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun," Luffy yelled as he focused his energy and called on his Devil's Fruit power. To the outside observer it was as if his arms multiplied, but in reality they were simply moving at a blinding rate of speed. Smoker reeled as dozens of blows piled up all at once.

"So, you've mastered _that_ technique," Smoker said irritably, wiping blood from a scalp injury out of his eyes. "I should have known when I felt your "spirit" take on such an oppressive feeling, but somehow you never seemed capable of such ability."

"Yeah, I've picked up some new things since back then," Luffy said. He charged at Smoker and tried to punch him again, but the crafty marine dodged it and slammed down an open handed blow on Luffy's head, driving him into the ground.

"It doesn't matter if you can hit me or not," Smoker said. "I'm not like those ability users who neglect their own bodies in favor of their powers."

"I'm glad," Luffy said as his legs twisted to latch onto Smoker's torso. "Smokey!"

Smoker leapt back to prevent the rubberman from winding up and slamming him into the ground, but Luffy's legs traveled with him. Instead of attempting to lift smoker off of the ground Luffy released the tension he had in his legs. Smoker braced himself just a split second before Luffy's body came twisting into him like an oversized bullet. He tried to dissipate at the last instant, but the weight of Luffy's spirit kept his form corporeal enough that he felt the blow even as he managed to turn into smoke and escape from the hold he was in. Smoker pulled himself back together and drew his jutte from its strap on his thick coat, pointing it at Luffy.

"You remember this don't you?" Smoker asked. "As soon as I catch you with this Seastone tipped weapon its over."

"Then I'll just have to not get caught," Luffy replied. He bent his knees and used his immense strength to push air into his shins before allowing it to flow back into his body where it stimulated his blood flow and nutrient usage.

"_What is he doing now? Is this the technique that was mentioned in the report from CP9?_" Smoker thought as he watched with growing eagerness.

"My speed will become too great for you to keep up," Luffy said as he bent down and steam began to pour out from all over his body. "Second Gear!"

Nami fell back, gasping for breath after having managed to dodge or deflect another series of attacks from Tashigi's katana. In fact, if it wasn't for the superior reach of her clima tact staff and for Tashigi holding back out of a desire to capture her then she would have already died by now.

"_Is this the power a normal female swordsman can obtain?_" Nami thought as she parried another thrust.

"You are a sturdier opponent than I had imagined," Tashigi said.

"I'm afraid that I'm a bad match up against you," Nami said. "Even though your skill is impressive, even for someone who frequently witnesses majestic swordsmanship, a blade is no match for the weather."

"Your abilities were amongst those cataloged in the report from Enies Lobby," Tashigi said warningly as Nami unleashed a Thunderbolt Tempo. Tashigi raised her katana into the air and allowed it to be struck by the ensuing lightening bolts, but instead of being electrocuted the material wrapped around the handle acted as insulation.

"No way," Nami said, seriously concerned that the marine girl had managed to take one of her best attacks without any effort.

"Are you ready to surrender yet?" Tashigi asked.

"Don't be silly," Nami said, sounding more confident than she felt. "You may have thwarted my Thunder Tempo, but now you have to face the full combat potential of my perfect clima tact."

Nami uncoupled the three segments of her staff and reconfigured them just before Tashigi rushed in. She caught the blade and grappled with the marine sword fighter for a moment. There was a sizzling sound as the katana blade turned white hot.

"You fiend," Tashigi growled as she jumped back and plunged her blade into the ground to relieve her scorching hands.

"I'm still the worst possible match up against you," Nami said triumphantly. "Get ready to experience the dial combat of the white-white seas."

Tashigi tried to grab her sword again, but Nami's clima tact gouged into her shoulder. There was a hiss as the dial imbedded in the staff released frigid temperatures that froze the shoulder and part of her arm. Still determined Tashigi reached out with her other hand to grip her sword only to draw back; burned again because the other end of the clima tact had been in contact with the blade to keep it hot.

"Just take a nap," Nami said. She struck Tashigi on the back of her head knocking her out, but before unconsciousness claimed her, the marine girl could have sworn she heard her foe telling her that she would tell Zoro "hi" for her…

Smoker's chest heaved as he tried to recover from the last series of blindingly fast attacks that Luffy had delivered whilst in his Second Gear form. Still, he was overjoyed with how this fight had turned out.

"Marvelous, Straw Hat Luffy," Smoker said as he felt another blow land. "Do you know how long it's been since I fought a battle where there was even a chance I could lose? Too long!"

"Eh, are you giving up?" Luffy asked. Smoker had tried to keep up with his speed by blanketing the entire battlefield in his smoke and then using that to materialize his body wherever he chose in an instant. That plan had failed though, when Luffy blanketed the field in attacks whilst using the technique Dragon had taught him to inflict some, albeit reduced, damage even against Smoker's incorporeal form.

Even worse, from Smoker's perspective, was the loss of the Seastone tip on his jutte when Luffy intercepted one of his attacks and snapped it off against a tree. Now they were down to nothing except their abilities and brute strength as weapons.

"No, I'm finishing this," Smoker said as he began to twist and expand. Nearby trees and other debris were being caught up in his spinning body. "With one final attack…"

"Gomu Gomu no…" Luffy said as his arms seemingly multiplied again as he began to build up one of his most powerful attacks. Under the influence of the Second Gear his arms soon disappeared entirely as they were moving too fast for the human eye to follow normally.

"White Out, Grand Twister," Smoker yelled as his body reached the size and power of a tornado. The ground around him cracked open and the clouds in the sky began to rotate around the extreme air currents he was generating.

"300 Pound Jet Cannon!" Luffy finished.

There was a massive flash as the energies of the two ability users collided and vied for dominance. Smoker gasped, his strength ebbing as Luffy's attack blew through the coherent movements of his smokey tornado. His body solidified back out of the remaining smoke as he fell to the ground, bloodied and exhausted.

"Nice," Luffy said, apparently talking to himself. "My body has gotten used to that technique pretty good now."

"Straw Hat," Smoker said as Luffy turned and began to walk away.

"Why didn't you go all out?" Luffy asked.

"For the same reason you didn't," Smoker replied. "I'm still going to pursue you, you know."

"That's fine, let's meet again," Luffy said, grinning, as he ran off to find Nami so they could get back to the ship and escape back onto the ocean. Back on the Thousand Sunny, Nico Robin was smiling to herself as her power enabled her to watch the captain and the navigator hurrying back, hand in hand, thankful for their encounter with marines.


End file.
